U.S. patent number RE47,442 [Application Number 14/815,476] was granted by the patent office on 2019-06-18 for method and apparatus for assisting data input to a portable information terminal.
This patent grant is currently assigned to LG ELECTRONICS INC.. The grantee listed for this patent is LG ELECTRONICS INC.. Invention is credited to Byung Hak Jung, Yun Gyu Kang, Sang Bum Kim, Seung Ho Lee, Su Young Pan, Yong Soo Shin.
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United States Patent |
RE47,442 |
Kang , et al. |
June 18, 2019 |
Method and apparatus for assisting data input to a portable
information terminal
Abstract
A method and apparatus for providing a suitable soft keyboard
for end users to conveniently enter data to a portable information
terminal that can not provide concurrently multiple character set
keyboards, such as Korean, English, and Numeric keyboards. A data
input assisting method displays an input window including a
plurality of input fields when data input is requested. The input
window identifies an input data set among English, Numeric, and
non-English character sets suitable to an input field, which is
selected for information input on the displayed input window, and
provides a soft keyboard of touch screen or the like including the
identified character set. Therefore, data input is ensured when a
user must select and enter non-English (e.g., Korean), English, or
Numeric data to match information type of each data field to be
stored in a portable information terminal, such as a Personal
Digital Assistant (PDA).
Inventors: |
Kang; Yun Gyu (Koompo-si,
KR), Jung; Byung Hak (Seoul, KR), Shin;
Yong Soo (Anyang-si, KR), Pan; Su Young (Seoul,
KR), Kim; Sang Bum (Goyang-si, KR), Lee;
Seung Ho (Koonpo-si, KR) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LG ELECTRONICS INC. |
Seoul |
N/A |
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
LG ELECTRONICS INC. (Seoul,
KR)
|
Family
ID: |
66793527 |
Appl.
No.: |
14/815,476 |
Filed: |
July 31, 2015 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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12320373 |
Jan 23, 2009 |
|
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Reissue of: |
10131044 |
Apr 25, 2002 |
7168046 |
Jan 23, 2007 |
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Reissue of: |
10131044 |
Apr 25, 2002 |
7168046 |
Jan 23, 2007 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Apr 26, 2001 [KR] |
|
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2001-22694 |
May 15, 2001 [KR] |
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2001-26562 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
3/04886 (20130101); G06F 3/0238 (20130101); G06F
3/04886 (20130101); G06F 40/174 (20200101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
3/00 (20060101); G06F 3/023 (20060101); G06F
3/0488 (20130101) |
Field of
Search: |
;715/773,771,764 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2000-0024489 |
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May 2000 |
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KR |
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2000-0026146 |
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May 2000 |
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KR |
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2000-0060799 |
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Oct 2000 |
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KR |
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Other References
Korean Office Action for KR 10-2001-0022694 dated Sep. 26, 2006.
cited by applicant .
Korean Office Action for KR 10-2001-0026562 dated Sep. 26, 2006.
cited by applicant .
U.S. Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 10/131,044 dated Feb. 2,
2005. cited by applicant .
U.S. Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/320,373 dated Nov. 16,
2012. cited by applicant .
U.S. Office Action for U.S. Appl. No. 12/320,373 dated Oct. 18,
2013. cited by applicant .
U.S. Office Action for parent U.S. Appl. No. 12/320,373 dated Jul.
13, 2017. cited by applicant.
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Primary Examiner: Ke; Peng
Attorney, Agent or Firm: KED & Associates LLP
Parent Case Text
.Iadd.This application is a Continuation Reissue of U.S.
application Ser. No. 12/320,373, filed Jan. 23, 2009, which is a
Reissue Application of U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,046, which claims
priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119 to Korean Application No.
10-2001-022694 filed Apr. 26, 2001, and Korean Application No.
10-2001-026562 filed May 15, 2001, whose entire disclosures are
hereby incorporated by reference. More than one reissue application
has been filed for the reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,046. The
Reissue Application numbers are Ser. Nos. 12/320,373 and 14/815,476
(the present application), which is a Continuation Application of
Ser. No. 12/320,373..Iaddend.
Claims
What is claimed is:
.[.1. A method for data input to a portable information terminal,
comprising: displaying an input window including a plurality of
input fields when data input is requested; identifying which
character set of a plurality of different character sets is
suitable to a selected input field on the displayed input window;
and providing a data input screen including the identified
character set in response to designation of the selected input
field, wherein each of the plurality of character sets has a
plurality of mutually exclusive characters, wherein more than two
different character sets are directly provided to the user
individually corresponding to each one of more than two input
fields in the displayed input window, wherein a determination of
said individually corresponding character sets to said each one of
the more than two input fields in the displayed input window is
modified by said user, and wherein upon each subsequent selection
of each input field said user modified individually corresponding
character set is provided..].
.[.2. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing data
entered through the provided data input screen as information of
the selected input field..].
.[.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data input screen is a
soft keyboard displayed on a displaying unit of the portable
information terminal..].
.[.4. The method of claim 3, wherein the soft keyboard has at least
one key defined to change among more than two character sets, and a
next character set is sequentially provided as the soft keyboard
according to a predefined switchover order whenever said at least
one key is selected..].
.[.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of character
sets include English, Numeric, and non-English character set, and
wherein the input fields require data from the plurality of
character sets..].
.[.6. The method of claim 1, wherein said data input is conducted
when a user performs information entry of personal contact
information for said user..].
.[.7. The method of claim 1, comprising: separately storing a
plurality of different written-style language character sets,
wherein the plurality of different character sets include the
plurality of different written-style language character sets;
entering data in the selected input field on the displayed input
window, the data including a plurality of written-style strokes
forming each character; limiting a character recognition search to
only one of the separately stored written-style language character
sets corresponding to the suitable character set when the suitable
character set is a written-style language character set; and
displaying an identified character corresponding the written-style
character on the input display window as a result of the
search..].
.[.8. A method for data input to a portable in formation terminal,
comprising: separately storing a plurality of different
written-style language character sets; displaying an input window
including a plurality of input fields when data input is requested;
identifying which character set among a plurality of different
character sets is suitable to a selected input field on the
displayed input window wherein the plurality of different character
sets include the plurality of different written-style language
character sets; wherein each of the plurality of written-style
language character sets has a plurality of mutually exclusive
characters; entering data in the selected input field on the
displayed input window, the data including a plurality of
written-style strokes forming each character; limiting a character
recognition search to only one of the separately stored
written-style language character sets corresponding to the suitable
character set when the suitable character set is a written-style
language character set; displaying an identified character
corresponding to the written-style character on the input display
window as a result of the search; and wherein corresponding
selected input fields are configured to be selectively assigned
each of two or more of the different character sets, wherein a
current one of the selectively assigned plurality of different
character sets is directly displayed for the selected input field,
wherein said current assigned character set for said selected input
field is modified by a user, and wherein said user modified current
character set is displayed and used for data entry upon each
subsequent selection of the selected input field..].
.[.9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: identifying which
character is entered through comparing said entered character with
all characters included in the limited search target; and storing
the identified character as information of the selected input
field..].
.[.10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: selecting the
input field among the plurality of input fields; and providing a
data input screen including the identified character set to a user
directly in response to selection of the selected input
field..].
.[.11. The method of claim 8, comprising: storing the written-style
strokes each with a prescribed code, wherein said each
written-style stroke is determined by a comparison made to a
written-style character database being the identified handwriting
character set..].
.[.12. The method of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of
character sets has a plurality of mutually exclusive characters,
and wherein said identifying and limiting sets are directly
performed without additional user action upon selection of a next
input field on the displayed input window..].
.[.13. An apparatus of data input to a portable information
terminal, comprising: display means for displaying an input window
including a plurality of selectable input fields when data input is
requested; storing means for storing information on which character
set among a plurality of character sets is suitable to each of the
input fields; wherein each of the plurality of character sets has a
plurality of mutually exclusive characters; and controller means
for identifying a suitable character set for a selected input field
on the displayed input window based on the information stored in
said storing means, and displaying a data input screen including
the identified character set in said display means, wherein said
data input screen has a single key defined to sequence among more
than two character sets, wherein said controller means sequentially
provides a next character set as a current character set in the
data input screen according to a predefined sequence whenever said
single key is selected to implement a user changed correspondence
between said selected input field and said suitable character set,
and wherein said user changed correspondence is reflected in later
entries in said selected input field..].
.[.14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said controller means
further stores data entered through the displayed data input screen
for the selected input field as information of the selected input
field, and wherein said single key is followed or operated in
combination with a second key or a prescribed key sequence, wherein
corresponding selected input fields are configured to be
selectively assigned each of two or more of the different character
sets, and wherein a current one of the selectively assigned
plurality of different character sets is directly displayed for the
selected input field..].
.[.15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the data input screen is
a soft keyboard, and wherein the data input screen is directly
displayed by the controller means according to selection of the
selected input field..].
.[.16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the character sets
include a plurality of language character sets and a Numeric
character set..].
.[.17. An apparatus of data input to a portable information
terminal, comprising: a display that displays an input window
including a plurality of input fields when data input is requested;
a storing device that stores information on which character set
among a plurality of different character sets is suitable to each
of the input fields; and a controller that identifies which
character is entered in a selected input field through searching
and comparing an entered character with characters stored in said
storing device, and stores the identified character as a piece of
information of an input field selected in the input window, wherein
each of the plurality of character sets has a plurality of mutually
exclusive characters, wherein corresponding selected input fields
are configured to be selectively assigned each of two or more of
the different character sets, wherein a current one of the
selectively assigned plurality of different character sets is
directly displayed for the selected input field, wherein said
current assigned character set for said selected input field is
modified by a user, and wherein upon each subsequent selection of
the selected input field said user modified current character set
is displayed and used for data entry..].
.[.18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said storing device has
respective separate areas for English, Numeric, and each
non-English character set, and wherein said controller identifies
the entered character by searching one corresponding character set
suitable for the selected input field in one separate area of the
storing device, and wherein the input fields require data from the
plurality of character sets..].
.[.19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the input fields require
data from more than two of the plurality of character sets..].
.[.20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein each character set has a
single key defined to sequence among more than two character sets,
and wherein said controller means sequentially provides a next
character set as a current character set in the input window
according to a predefined sequence whenever said single key is
selected..].
.[.21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the character sets
include a plurality of written-style character sets..].
.Iadd.22. A portable information terminal, comprising: a touch
screen; a memory configured to store information from a data input
window; and a controller configured to: display, on the touch
screen, the data input window including a first input field, a
second input field, and a third input field, when a specific data
input is requested, display, on the touch screen, a data input
region, wherein a first soft keyboard of a first language character
set is displayed on the data input region when the first input
field is selected, a second soft keyboard of a second language
character set is displayed on the data input region when the second
input field is selected, and a third soft keyboard of a numeric
character set is displayed on the data input region when the third
input field is selected, in response to selection of a soft key
while the first soft keyboard is displayed in the data input region
and while a specific switching order of the keyboards is assigned
to the soft key, change a soft keyboard included in the data input
region from the first soft keyboard to the second soft keyboard;
and in response to selection of the soft key while the second soft
keyboard is displayed in the data input region and while the
specific switching order of the keyboards is assigned to the soft
key, change a soft keyboard included in the data input region from
the second keyboard to the first soft keyboard, wherein the first
and second language character sets are different from each other
according to attributes of the first and second input field, and
wherein the first and second language character sets are mutually
exclusive sets, wherein the controller is configured to
automatically select an input field having first priority among the
first, second, and third input fields and automatically display the
data input region including a soft keyboard of a character set
corresponding to the selected input field..Iaddend.
.Iadd.23. The portable information terminal of claim 22, wherein
each of the first language character set, the second language
character set and the numeric character set has a plurality of
mutually exclusive characters..Iaddend.
.Iadd.24. The portable information terminal of claim 22, wherein
the specific data is contact information, the first input field is
a name field, the second input field is an e-mail field, and the
third input field is a telephone number field..Iaddend.
.Iadd.25. The portable information terminal of claim 24, wherein
the controller is further configured to: execute a contact database
management application; receive search request for contact
information based on input data from a user; search a contact
database for contact information having data that exactly matches
the input data from the user; and display, on the touch screen, a
result of the search..Iaddend.
.Iadd.26. The portable information terminal of claim 24, wherein
the controller is further configured to: execute a contact database
management application; receive search request for contact
information based on input data from a user; search a contact
database for contact information having data that partially matches
the input data from the user; and display, on the touch screen, a
result of the search..Iaddend.
.Iadd.27. The portable information terminal of claim 22, wherein
the data input region includes a first switchover soft key, a
second switchover soft key, and a third switchover soft key,
wherein in response to selection of the first switchover soft key,
the first soft keyboard is displayed on the data input region, in
response to selection of the second switchover soft key, the second
soft keyboard is displayed on the data input region, in response to
selection of the third switchover soft key, the third soft keyboard
is displayed on the data input region..Iaddend.
.Iadd.28. A portable information terminal, comprising: a touch
screen; a memory configured to store information from a data input
window; and a controller configured to: display, on the touch
screen, the data input window including a first input field, a
second input field, and a third input field, when a specific data
input is requested, wherein in response to selection of the first
input field, display a data input region including a first
handwriting input region, matched to a first language character
set, on the touch screen, and in response to selection of the
second input field, display the data input region including a
second handwriting input region, matched to a second language
character set, on the touch screen, receive a handwriting input at
the first handwriting input region or the second handwriting input
region; perform character recognition regarding the handwriting
input, wherein a range of the character recognition is variable
according to attributes of the first or second input fields; in
response to selection of a single key while the first language
character set is matched to the first handwriting input region and
while a specific switching order is associated with a plurality of
language sets, change a language character set matched to the first
handwriting input region from the first language character set to
the second language character set and change the range of the
character recognition according to the change of the language
character set matched to the first handwriting input region; and in
response to selection of the single key while the second language
character set is matched to the second handwriting input region and
while the specific switching order is associated with a plurality
of language sets, change a language character set matched to the
second handwriting input region from the second language character
set to the first language character set and change the range of the
character recognition according to the change of the language
character set matched to the second handwriting input region,
wherein the first and second language character sets are different
from each other according to attributes of the first and second
input fields, and wherein the first and second language character
sets are mutually exclusive character sets, wherein the controller
is configured to automatically select an input field having first
priority between the first and second input fields and
automatically display the data input region corresponding to the
selected input field..Iaddend.
.Iadd.29. The portable information terminal of claim 28, wherein
each of the first language character set and the second language
character set has a plurality of mutually exclusive
characters..Iaddend.
.Iadd.30. The portable information terminal of claim 28, wherein
the controller is further configured to display the data input
region including a handwriting input region matched to a numeric
character set, when a touch input is received at the third input
field..Iaddend.
.Iadd.31. The portable information terminal of claim 28, wherein
the specific data is contact information, the first input field is
a name field and the second input field is an e-mail
field..Iaddend.
.Iadd.32. The portable information terminal of claim 31, wherein
the controller is further configured to: execute a contact database
management application; receive search request for contact
information based on input data from a user; search a contact
database for contact information having data that exactly matches
the input data from the user; and display, on the touch screen, a
result of the search..Iaddend.
.Iadd.33. The portable information terminal of claim 31, wherein
the controller is further configured to: execute a contact database
management application; receive search request for contact
information based on input data from a user; search a contact
database for contact information having data that partially matches
the input data from the user; and display, on the touch screen, a
result of the search..Iaddend.
.Iadd.34. A portable information terminal, comprising: a touch
screen; a memory configured to store information from a data input
window; and a controller configured to: display the data input
window including a plurality of input fields, and automatically
select a specific input field having first priority among the
plurality of input fields, and automatically display a data input
region including a specific soft keyboard of a specific character
set corresponding to the specific input field, when a specific data
input is requested; when an input field, from among the plurality
of input fields, is selected by touch input of a user, display a
data input region including a specific soft keyboard of a specific
character set corresponding to the selected input field, wherein
the specific character set is determined to be one of a first
language character set, a second language character set, and a
numeric character set based on an attribute of the input field; and
in response to selection of a soft key while a first soft keyboard
is displayed in the data input region and while a predetermined
switching order is assigned to the selected input field, change a
soft keyboard corresponding to the selected input field from the
first soft keyboard to a second soft keyboard according to the
predetermined switching order corresponding to the selected input
field, wherein the first language character set, the second
language character set and the numeric character set are different
from each other..Iaddend.
.Iadd.35. The portable information terminal of claim 34, wherein
the first language character set, the second language character set
and the numeric character set are mutually exclusive from each
other..Iaddend.
.Iadd.36. The portable information terminal of claim 34, wherein
the specific data is contact information, the first input field is
a name field, the second input field is an e-mail field, and the
third input field is a telephone number field..Iaddend.
.Iadd.37. The portable information terminal of claim 36, wherein
the controller is further configured to: execute a contact database
management application; receive search request for contact
information based on input data from a user; search a contact
database for contact information having data that exactly matches
the input data from the user; and display, on the touch screen, a
result of the search..Iaddend.
.Iadd.38. The portable information terminal of claim 36, wherein
the controller is further configured to: execute a contact database
management application; receive search request for contact
information based on input data from a user; search a contact
database for contact information having data that partially matches
the input data from the user; and display, on the touch screen, a
result of the search..Iaddend.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data input assisting method and
apparatus of a portable information terminal, more particularly, to
a method and apparatus for providing a suitable soft keyboard of
character type data which can be conveniently entered by a user to
a portable information terminal, such as a Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA).
2. Background of the Related Art
Modern technology development has made a cellular phone and a PCS
phone (called `mobile` phone, hereinafter) much smaller, lighter
and cheaper. Thus, a mobile phone is very popular and widely
utilized.
In these days, various mobile information terminals other than the
popular mobile phone are being introduced to the market. Among
those mobile information terminals, a PDA stands in the spotlight
for consumers.
The PDA, in general, consists of a CPU, which is a core device of a
computer, memories, I/O devices, Operating System (O/S), and a
variety of application programs running based on the O/S. The I/O
devices include a touch pad and a wide Liquid Crystal Display
(LCD), which has a touch screen installed as another input device.
Major functions of the PDA are personal information recording,
storing, searching, and communication.
The PDA provides an embedded-in application program capable of
storing personal contact information entered by a user through the
input device and capable of searching all entries of personal
contact information for a particular contact information. A contact
entry is generally including several fields, such as name, address,
position in company, telephone number, e-mail, etc.
A related art user's information input for a contact entry will now
be described. When a user requests input of a contact entry, the
PDA executes a suitable application program that manages the user's
contact information. The application program outputs an input
window in which all necessary fields are prepared. Then, the user
will sequentially enter the proper information in each field.
If a user, who is a Korean, wants to enter in the name field a
Korean name, he or she first needs to activate `Korean` soft
keyboard on the touch screen by pressing a special key on the touch
pad or on a previous soft keyboard. As a result, the `Korean` soft
keyboard is displayed on the touch screen. Then, a user touches
proper keys on the `Korean` soft keyboard sequentially with a pen.
The characters assigned to the touched keys are entered in the name
field. After data are entered completely in the name field, the
user wants to enter information in the telephone field, he or she
then needs to activate `Numeric` soft keyboard on the touch screen.
If a user needs to enter information in the e-mail field, he or she
has to activate `English` soft keyboard. After a soft keyboard has
changed into a suitable one at the user's request, the user can
then enter desired information in the corresponding field.
However, the related art data inputting method must select and
display a soft keyboard suitable for character type data entering
on the touch screen through user manual selection before the user
can enter desired data in the corresponding field as described
above. Namely, the `Korean` soft keyboard must be displayed for the
fields of name and address, the `Numeric` soft keyboard for the
fields of mobile phone, telephone, facsimile, etc., and the
`English` soft keyboard for the fields of e-mail. Needless to say
that data entering operations for all fields are somewhat tedious
and time consuming.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to solve at least the above problems
and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages
described hereinafter.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a data input
assisting method and apparatus of a portable information terminal
that determines which character set is to be used for a particular
field and activates a data entry device such as a soft keyboard of
the determined character set to be displayed as an input device.
When a user selects the particular field, the input data from the
character set will be easily or directly completed.
In order to achieve at least the above objects in whole or in part,
and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as
embodied and broadly described, there is provided a method for data
input to a portable information terminal, including displaying an
input window including a plurality of input fields when data input
is requested, identifying which character set of a plurality of
character sets is suitable to a selected input field on the
displayed input window, and providing a data input screen including
the identified character set in response to designation of the
selected input field.
To further achieve at least the above objects in whole or in part,
and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as
embodied and broadly described, there is provided a method for data
input to a portable information terminal, including displaying an
input window including a plurality of input fields when data input
is requested, identifying which character set among a plurality of
character sets is suitable to a selected input field on the
displayed input window, and limiting a search target to the
identified character set among all possible character sets.
To further achieve at least the above objects in whole or in part,
and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as
embodied and broadly described, there is provided an apparatus of
data input to a portable information terminal, including a display
device for displaying an input window including a plurality of
selectable input fields when data input is requested, a storing
unit for storing information on which character set among a
plurality of character sets is suitable to each of the input
fields, and a controller device for identifying a suitable
character set for a selected input field on the displayed input
window based on the information stored in the storing unit, and
displaying a data input screen including the identified character
set in the display device.
To further achieve at least the above objects in whole or in part,
and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as
embodied and broadly described, there is provided an apparatus of
data input to a portable information terminal, including a display
that displays an input window including a plurality of input fields
when data input is requested, a storing device that stores
information on which character set among a plurality of character
sets is suitable to each of the input fields, and a controller that
identifies which character is entered in a selected input field
through searching and comparing an entered character with
characters stored in the storing device, and stores the identified
character as a piece of information of an input field selected in
the input window.
Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will
be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part
will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon
examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the
invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be
realized and attained as particularly pointed out in the appended
claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be described in detail with reference to the
following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like
elements wherein:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a portable information terminal
in which a preferred embodiment of a data input assisting apparatus
in accordance with the present invention is embedded;
FIG. 2 shows a written-style character memory having separate areas
for each character set;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a preferred embodiment of data input
assisting method of a portable information terminal in accordance
with the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows an exemplary memory of which storage space is divided
into two areas, one for programs and the other for data;
FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a soft keyboard composed of a
Korean character set;
FIG. 6 shows an example of a full display on which a soft keyboard
of Korean character set is outputted;
FIG. 7 illustrates a soft keyboard composed of a numeric character
set;
FIG. 8 shows an example of a full display on which a soft keyboard
of numeric character set is outputted;
FIG. 9 illustrates a soft keyboard composed of an English character
set;
FIG. 10 shows an example of a full display on which a soft keyboard
of English character set is outputted; and
FIG. 11 shows a display output in which information for an entry is
complete.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In order that the invention may be fully understood, preferred
embodiments thereof will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a portable information terminal
in which a preferred embodiment of a data input assisting apparatus
in accordance with the present invention is embedded.
The portable information terminal shown in FIG. 1 includes a touch
screen 10 having a touch pad 11 for data entry and a display unit
12 for displaying information, a touch detecting unit 20 receiving
signals produced when the touch screen 10 is pressed and
calculating an xy coordinate value(s) of the pressed point and a
memory 31 storing a variety of application programs and information
in which a character set (soft keyboard) is preferably associated
with each field of all information items. A written-style character
database (DB) 41 stores an information pattern of written-style
characters in connection with the codes associated with respective
written-style characters. A written-pattern identifying unit 40 is
for identifying a written-style character by comparing a pattern
formed by xy coordinate value(s) collected while a user writes a
character on the touch screen 10 with a pattern information in the
written-style character DB 41. Three character set DBs 50, 51, and
52 preferably store respective Korean, Numeric, and English soft
keyboards, character codes and the xy coordinate values of all
characters of each character set, and a user data DB 60 for storing
data information of each field of various user contact information
items, such as name, address, e-mail, etc., entered by a user.
However, the present invention is not intended to be so limited.
Further, a controlling unit 30 conducts overall control of
operations of user's field data storing operations, user data DB
search operations, information display operations, and so on.
The pattern information about each character stored in the
written-style character DB 41 are preferably acquired from
recognizing trial-and-errors of many person's writings to make a
reduced or the least pattern matching error.
The touch screen 10 including the touch pad 11 and the displaying
unit 12 uses a resistance plate where a pressed point has different
resistance or a capacitance plate where an electric charge at a
pressed point becomes different. The touch detecting unit 20
calculates xy coordinate values corresponding to user's pressing
point on the touch screen 10 based on the change of current or
voltage in the thin plate covered on the displaying unit 12. The
touch detecting unit also detects the number of strokes in a
character by counting how many times a press is applied to the
touch screen 10. The xy coordinate values collected while a
character is being written and the detected number of strokes is
used for identifying which character is handwritten or entered on
the touch screen 10 by a user.
The written-style character DB 41 preferably has separate areas for
each character set. As shown in FIG. 2, a Korean character set is
stored in the first area, a numeric set in the second, and an
English set in the third. Information of each character in the DB
41 further includes pattern information of the character, the
number of strokes in the character, and binary code of the
character.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a preferred embodiment of data input
assisting method of a portable information terminal in accordance
with the present invention. The procedure depicted in the flow
chart of FIG. 3 can be conducted by the portable information
terminal shown in FIG. 1 explained below in detail. However, the
present invention is not intended to be so limited.
The memory 31 is preferably divided into two areas or zones, one
for programs and the other for data as shown in FIG. 4. Character
set indicating information for each field of all user data DBs is
stored in the data zone, and various programs as well as an
operating system basically running the portable information
terminal are stored in the program zone.
As shown in FIG. 3, after a process starts, if a user requests to
create an information entry of a contact DB (Step S10), the
controlling unit 30 executes a corresponding Application Program
(AP) that displays an input window preferably including input
fields of name, mobile phone, e-mail, address, position, telephone,
facsimile, etc. on the touch screen 10 (Step S11). After displaying
the input window, the AP moves an input cursor to a first input
field, namely, the name field (Step S20). The application program
searches the data zone of the memory 31 for a field matched with
the current field the cursor is now placed in, and for example,
finds that character set suitable to the current name field is
Korean based on the stored information in connection with the found
field. When selected, the AP outputs a soft keyboard composed of
Korean character set such as shown in FIG. 5 to the displaying unit
12 (Step S21) after reading it from the first character set DB 50.
The application program will search the data zone of the memory 31
again (Step S20), if unable to find a character set suitable to the
current or selected input field, namely the name field. FIG. 6
shows an example of display output formed by operations described
above.
When the Korean soft keyboard has been displayed in the new entry
window for contact DB, data are entered one by one into the name
field by the user by pressing suitable keys sequentially. For
example, if a user wants to enter ` in Korean then the following `,
and ` are selected and pressed sequentially on the displayed Korean
soft keyboard by a user to form the desired Korean characters.
If a user wants to enter English in the name field instead of
Korean, the user presses a prescribed or special key on the touch
pad 11 or key combination on the soft keyboard to switch soft
keyboard to English (Step S30). When the prescribed key or key
combination is used to switch soft keyboard, those keys are
preferably pressed simultaneously or sequentially at a very short
interval therebetween. When switchover of soft keyboard is
requested, the controlling unit 30 can output a soft keyboard that
is next in series after the Korean soft keyboard in a predefined
switchover order (Step S31), after reading the new character from a
corresponding character set (e.g., DB 51 or 52). If the predefined
switchover order is `Korean`.fwdarw.`Numeric`.fwdarw.`English`,
then, the English soft keyboard will be outputted by two switchover
requests. After the English soft keyboard is displayed, a user can
enter English name in the name field through sequential touches on
desired keys.
In the meantime, whenever a user touches an arbitrary key of any
soft keyboard, the touch detecting unit 20 sends xy coordinate
value of the touched point calculated as described above to the
controlling unit 30. Then, the controlling unit 30 searches the
character set DB 50, 51, or 52, which have a character set suitable
to the current name field, for a character code with xy coordinate
value closest to the received xy coordinate value to identify which
character of the character set has been entered (Step S41). If a
character code is found among the character sets, the controlling
unit 30 reads font data corresponding to the found character code
and outputs it to the displaying unit 12, whereby a user can
confirm a character he or she entered. Also, the controlling unit
30 stores the identified character in the name field as a new entry
of a contact DB created for the user data DB 60 (Step S42).
Preferably, such operations will be conducted repeatedly until next
field of the contact DB is selected.
After the current field (e.g., name field) is filled with a desired
information (e.g., name), the user selects a next field to enter
information. If a user moves the cursor to the second field of
`cellular` or `mobile` as shown in FIG. 8 (Step S40), the AP run by
the controlling unit 30 confirms that possible character set to the
mobile field is `Numeric` after examining the data zone of the
memory 31. Thus, the controlling unit 30 outputs the numeric soft
keyboard composed of numeric characters as shown in FIG. 7 after
reading the numeric character from the second character set DB 51.
FIG. 8 shows an exemplary full display output formed by the
procedures described above. After the numeric soft keyboard is
displayed automatically by simply moving the cursor to the mobile
field, a user can enter subscriber number of mobile communication
system in the `mobile` field through sequential touches on desired
keys.
Similar to the above procedures, if a user moves the cursor to the
`e-mail` field after completing the `mobile` field, the AP run by
the controlling unit 30 confirms that possible character set to the
e-mail field is `English` after examining the data zone of the
memory 31, and outputs the English soft keyboard composed of
English characters as shown in FIG. 9 after reading the English
character from the third character set DB 52. As a result, a full
display window like FIG. 10 is provided onto the displaying unit
12. Thus, a user can enter an e-mail address in the `e-mail` field
through sequential touches on desired keys.
Owing to the above-described key input assisting method, a user can
enter all information in every field of an entry of a contact DB
conveniently and in less time without any manual switchover to
other suitable soft keyboard for a current input field (Step S50).
Further, data search time and processing can be reduced. When each
field is complete, the process ends. Otherwise, control returns to
enter data for the next input field selected (Step S20). FIG. 11
shows an illustrative window in which all information for an entry
is completely filled. The controlling unit 30 stores all
information entered for an entry in respective data fields of a
contact DB allocated in the user data DB 60. All field data entered
for an entry are preferably linked together by the entry number or
the like assigned to that entry.
After many entries of the contact DB are created and stored in the
user data DB 60 in accordance with the above described method, a
user can request entry search after executing the contact DB
managing AP. The AP run by the controlling unit 30 preferably
searches the contact DB stored in the user data DB 60 for an entry
that has a field with data matched exactly or partially with the
entered data in the same field on an input window by a user, and
displays all field data found on the entry.
In the preferred embodiments described above, information necessary
to each field is entered through touches on keys of a soft
keyboard. However, such information may be entered through
handwriting on the touch screen 10 or the like instead. While a
user writes a character on the touch screen 10, the controlling
unit 30 delivers the collection, gathered during user's
handwriting, of calculated xy coordinate values and the number of
strokes detected by the touch detecting unit 20 to the
written-pattern identifying unit 40. Then, the written-pattern
identifying unit 40 selects only one set of characters as a search
target among all possible character sets, instead of searching all
handwritten character sets. Namely, the written-pattern identifying
unit 40 preferably selects one handwritten character set, of which
character type can be entered as information of a current data
field, as a search target. For example, if a current field is
`name`, the written-pattern identifying unit 40 selects the first
separated area as a search target because character type of the
name field is assigned to Korean. The identifying unit 40
preferably searches only the first area or a smaller user defined
area of the written-style character DB 41 to find stored pattern
data with the same number of strokes in a character and most
similar to configuration formed by the collection of xy values.
Since searching information is relatively small, the time required
for identifying a written character and the chance of mismatching
the pattern data are extremely low.
As described above preferred embodiments according to the present
invention have various advantages. Preferred embodiments of data
input assisting method and apparatus in accordance with the present
invention ensure fast and convenient data input work with a
portable information terminal not capable of providing Korean,
English, and Numeric keyboard concurrently in a case that Korean,
English, or Numeric data must be selected to match character type
of each data field before entering data in that data field.
The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and
are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The
present teaching can be readily applied to other types of
apparatuses. The description of the present invention is intended
to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many
alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to
those skilled in the art. In the claims, means-plus-function
clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as
performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents
but also equivalent structures.
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